The Heirloom Orchardist Shop > Heirloom Bartlett Pear Designs
Today’s “Bartlett Pear” has a bit of a checkered history. First developed in 17th century England by John Stair, cuttings of the “Stair Pear” were purchased by someone named “Williams” who renamed it. Then, it crossed the Atlantic and was grown on the Brewer Estate in Roxbury, MA. After Mr. Enoch Bartlett purchased the estate, he propagated the pear and introduced it to the U.S. as the Bartlett Pear. When some new “Williams” pear trees arrived from England on or about 1828, the original identity of the Bartlett was discovered. But by then the Bartlett name had stuck.
